THE CENTER SQUARE—In a forceful pushback, New York education officials are defying the Trump administration’s directive to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in public schools.
In a letter to the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights, New York Schools Counsel and Deputy Commissioner Daniel Morton-Bentley said the state will not comply with an order from President Donald Trump to certify that school districts are eliminating DEI initiatives. The state will not send any “further certification” of compliance with federal law, the letter stated.
“We understand that the current administration seeks to censor anything it deems ‘diversity, equity and inclusion,’” he wrote. “But there are no federal or State laws prohibiting the principles of DEI.”
Morton-Bentley said the Trump administration’s stance is an “abrupt…
